The Reason Why the Sinking City of Venice Still Attracts People
Venice is known as the "city floating on the sea."
At the same time, it is a city that is gradually sinking due to the effects of rising sea levels caused by global warming.
Even so, people from all over the world continue to visit Venice today.
Why are people drawn to a place that they know is sinking?
I believe this question goes beyond tourism or urban issues and quietly connects to our very way of life.
A floating city is never stable
Venice is a city built on wooden piles across about 120 islands.
The scenery surrounded by water is beautiful and truly extraordinary, but its foundation can by no means be called solid.
Flooding caused by high tides (Acqua Alta) has been a long-standing issue, and the city is currently protected by a movable flood barrier called "MOSE."
It is a system where giant gates installed on the seabed rise only when necessary to prevent high tides.
However, MOSE is not an "eternal solution."
It is merely a measure to mitigate damage, not a device that promises a future where the city will not sink.
This is very similar to life.
Preparation and countermeasures are important, but they do not guarantee "complete safety."
Being protected is different from being at ease
Thanks to MOSE, Venice is better protected than it was before.
However, even while knowing this fact, people do not go so far as to say, "Now we can be at ease."
Yet, the city continues to live.
It undergoes repeated repairs, people live there, it welcomes tourists, and it preserves its culture.
Continuing daily life even without complete peace of mind.
This attitude might be the very essence of Venice.
For those who want to understand Venice deeply as a travel destination, the "Chikyu no Arukikata: Milan, Venice and the Lake District 2026-2027," which has undergone its first major revision in six and a half years, is a helpful reference.
It is not just about tourist information; it is carefully written with the history and background of the city,
making it a book that provides clues to think about "why this city still exists today."
People become serious precisely because they can see the end
Many people feel that Venice "might be lost someday."
That is why visitors try to look at the city closely, take photos, and etch it into their memories.
This is similar to human relationships and how we spend our time.
We tend to treat things we think will "always be there" carelessly.
On the other hand, the moment we realize there is a limit, our attitude naturally becomes more careful.
Traveler KAD's
"Things That Are Important in Life Taught to Me by People I Met While Traveling to 100 Countries"
contains many such "words of a lifetime."
The many words encountered precisely because of traveling to so many countries
quietly ask us, "How will you live this very moment?"
The choice not to go against the flow, but not to be swept away by it either
Venice did not choose to completely defy the forces of nature.
At the same time, it has not given up everything and let itself be swept away.
The MOSE system is not meant to
"stop the flow," but rather to "catch it only when necessary."
Isn't life much the same?
If you resist too much, you will become exhausted,
and if you do nothing, you will sink.
Bappa Shota's
"Travel with the Flow. GO WITH THE FLOW"
is a book that teaches you that balance through experience.
The experience of being lost in one's youth, pausing, and yet still setting out on a journey
conveys a "way of living without losing oneself in the flow."
Even so, people are drawn to places that are sinking
Venice is not a perfect city.
It is unstable, fragile, and its future may not be guaranteed.
Yet, people find beauty there.
Perhaps it is precisely because it is imperfect that it moves our hearts.
How do we live in a situation where we cannot feel completely secure?
Knowing the possibility of sinking, what do we choose to embrace?
Venice does not loudly provide answers.
It simply continues to exist quietly,
and I feel as though it is posing questions to us.
Thank you for reading until the end.
Gemini0530ma
*This article contains some advertisements.
#Venice #ItalyTravel
#LifePhilosophy #SelfDevelopment
#TravelAndLife #GlobalWarming
#MOSE #Sandwichman
#ManaAshida #Hakasechan
#Anne #TVAsahi #WorldHeritageTest